Breast Cancer | Specialty

The OncLive Breast Cancer condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and expert insights on various types of breast cancer, including those that are triple negative, hormone receptor positive, and/or HER2 positive. This page features news articles, interviews in written and video format, and podcasts that focus on treatment advances and ongoing research in breast cancer.

Dr. Mittendorf on Vaccines as Prevention for Breast Cancer

January 6th 2017

Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Surgical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the possibility of using vaccines as a preventative measure for breast cancer, particularly to fight recurrence.

Prophylactic Treatment Reduces Neratinib-Related Toxicity in HER2+ Breast Cancer

January 5th 2017

A prophylactic treatment of loperamide plus budesonide reduced the rate of grade 3 diarrhea associated with neratinib.

Lapatinib Plus Whole-Brain Radiotherapy May Control Brain Metastases in HER2+ Breast Cancer

January 4th 2017

An investigation of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib plus whole-brain radiotherapy has entered into a phase II trial in the treatment of patients with brain metastases from HER2-positive breast cancer.

Dr. Brufsky on Cobimetinib Plus Paclitaxel in TNBC

January 4th 2017

Adam M. Brufsky, MD, PhD, professor of Medicine, associate chief of Hematology/Oncology, co-director of the Comprehensive Breast Care Center, associate director of Clinical Investigation, University of Pittsburgh, discusses combining cobimetinib and paclitaxel as a first-line treatment in patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer.

Novel Combinations Key to Advancing HR+ Breast Cancer Care

December 27th 2016

Paul Kelly Marcom, MD, discusses the future landscape of HR-positive breast cancer, highlighting the influence of CDK4/6 inhibitors and targeted agent/endocrine therapy combinations.

Expert Predicts TNBC Will Evolve to Include More Subsets, Tailored Therapies

December 27th 2016

Lisa Carey, MD, discusses the current state of the science in triple-negative breast cancer, the potential for immunotherapy, and future treatment approaches she anticipates in the coming years.

Post-Mastectomy Radiation Associated With Increased Complications for Some Patients

December 22nd 2016

Patients with breast cancer who received radiation therapy after undergoing a mastectomy reported increased complications and lower satisfaction.

FDA Grants Priority Review to sNDA for Full Approval of Palbociclib in Breast Cancer

December 22nd 2016

The FDA has granted a priority review to a supplemental new drug application supporting the conversation of the accelerated approval of palbociclib (Ibrance) to a full approval for use in combination with letrozole as a frontline treatment for postmenopausal women with ER-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.

FDA Grants Marketing Approval to AeroForm Tissue Expansion Device for Patients Following Mastectomy

December 22nd 2016

The FDA has approved the marketing of AeroForm, a new system for soft tissue expansion in 2-stage breast reconstruction following mastectomy, and in the treatment of underdeveloped breasts and soft tissue deformities.

MM-302 Falls Short in Phase II HER2+ Breast Cancer Trial

December 21st 2016

The phase II HERMIONE trial was halted after the antibody-drug conjugate MM-302 combined with trastuzumab failed to improve progression-free survival versus chemotherapy plus trastuzumab in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who had previously received trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and ado-trastuzumab emtansine.

Hurvitz Sheds Light on Abemaciclib Activity in HR+/HER2- Breast Cancer

December 20th 2016

The neoadjuvant combination of CDK4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib plus anastrazole may represent a novel therapeutic option for patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer.

Axillary Lymph Node Dissection Can Be Avoided for Some Patients With Breast Cancer, Study Shows

December 19th 2016

Results of a clinical trial show that an axillary lymph node dissection can be avoided for patients with large, operable tumors in the breast, no clinical signs of cancer in the axillary nodes before being treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and no signs of cancer following a sentinel lymph node biopsy during surgery.

Continuous Low-Dose Ribociclib Both Safe and Active in Advanced Breast Cancer

December 16th 2016

A continuous low-dose of ribociclib demonstrated both preliminary activity and an acceptable safety profile when compared with an intermittent dose of ribociclib when combined with fulvestrant in the treatment of postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer.

Carboplatin Response Rate Not Superior to Docetaxel in BRCA1 Methylated or Silenced TNBC

December 16th 2016

Testing for BRCA1 methylation or mRNA silencing did not predict a better response to carboplatin over docetaxel in patients with advanced triple-negative or BRCA1/2 breast cancer.

Brock Schroeder Discusses BCI Findings in ER+ Breast Cancer

December 13th 2016

Brock Schroeder, PhD, senior director, Medical and Scientific Affairs at bioTheranostics, discusses findings regarding the Breast Cancer Index in predicting patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer at high risk of recurrence.

Patient-Friendly Policies Extend to Decision Making

December 12th 2016

It was not that long ago that decisions regarding cancer management were essentially made exclusively by the treating physician, with patients simply being informed of “the plan” for their treatment.

Nab-Paclitaxel/Carboplatin Doublet Superior in Phase II tnAcity Trial

December 11th 2016

The combination of nab-paclitaxel and carboplatin reduced the risk of progression or death by 40% compared with 2 other chemotherapy doublets as a frontline therapy for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.

Pembrolizumab Shows Durable Responses in Heavily Pretreated TNBC

December 10th 2016

Treatment with pembrolizumab continued to show a consistent durable benefit with an additional year of follow-up for heavily pretreated patients with recurrent PD-L1-positive metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.

Dr. Burris on Updated MONALEESA-2 Trial Results for HR+ Breast Cancer

December 10th 2016

Howard A. "Skip" Burris, MD, president of Clinical Operations and chief medical officer at Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses updated findings from the MONALEESA-2 trial, which explored first-line treatment with ribociclib plus letrozole in patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer.

Dr. Tolaney on Pembrolizumab Plus Eribulin in TNBC

December 10th 2016

Sara M. Tolaney, MD, MPH, associate director, Clinical Research, Breast Oncology, Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers, senior physician, instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses a phase Ib/II trial exploring eribulin mesylate (Halaven) in combination with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).